About Stephanie Cohen
I'm Stephanie Cohen. An attorney by trade but the law can be boring so let's put some spice into the law and other topics to evoke empowerment, inspiration and creativity, whether it has to do with the law or not. Write in if you have a topic you would like to see covered!
I loooove LMFAO. Who doesn’t like singing I’m sexy and I know it (except for when it gets stuck in your head which then cursing LMFAO seems like a good idea)? A six year old kid was suspended from school for singing that song to a female in his class because the school considered it sexual harassment. If that is sexual harassment then someone better talk to the guy who came in my office the other day and said my office smelled nice.
Talk about taking something over the top. A. He is six. B. In order to sexually harass someone, there needs to be unwanted sexual advances that create a hostile work environment. I am sure the school’s policy may have indicated additional language but still, singing a song is a sexual advance? Just because it has the word “sexy” in it doesn’t make it a sexual advance. C. Did I mention he was six? Which means the female student he was “singing” to was also six or at least around that age, which means the likelihood of even understanding a sexual advance is highly unlikely.
The boy went back to school but now the family is fighting to clear his record. LMFAO lovers unite! If we need to sign a petition, send it my way!
Leave a comment | tags: entertainment, hostile work environment, sexual advance, unwanted sexual advances | posted in Family, Legal topics, Music, Not so legal, Stephanie Cohen
I love lottery tickets. I also love Vegas. I am not a big gambler but I love playing a few slot machines every now and then. I don’t, however, dig in the trash for lottery tickets to see if maybe a thrown away ticket might be a winner.
A women in Arkansas made a ritual practice of searching trashcans for discarded tickets, scratch off tickets, etc and actually found a ticket that was for ONE MILLION DOLLARS. Can you imagine? Talk about a lucky find! Not so fast because the woman who initially bought the ticket decided to claim the ticket and says she is entitled to the money.
In order to claim the “finders keepers” law so to speak, the item needs to actually be abandoned. The woman who bought the ticket said the machine told her she didn’t win but the machine was actually broken. Is that de facto abandonment? The court didn’t agree and the woman who initially bought the ticket is entitled to her winnings.
I kind of like the idea of a woman searching the trash to find her millions. Too bad the court disagreed.
Leave a comment | tags: business, life, lottery ticket, millions, money, Stephanie Cohen | posted in lawsuit, Legal topics, life, money, Not so legal, Opinion
Unbeknownst to most people, I decided to get a massage one day at one of those places where you pay fifty dollars and can get a somewhat ok massage. It is much better to go somewhere like Burke Williams but on this particular day, I didn’t really want the whole spa treatment and figured I could just go for a quick massage. Let’s just say the massage ended with me thinking — ummmmm, did he just really ask me if he could do that??? I ended up talking to the manager and after she spoke to the creepster, she told me he said he thought we had a “connection”. Not so much buddy. This leads me now to John Travolta.
I am a fan of John Travolta…who doesn’t like Staying Alive? However, Mr. Travolta is being sued for assault, sexual battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress by a male masseuse who claims Mr. Travolta hired him for two hours, made unwanted advances and also touched his private arena. (I prefer the phrase “private arena” over genitalia). Apparently the plaintiff won’t give his name and Mr. Travolta says the claim is completely baseless. It is a touchy case (no pun intended) as you really can’t stop someone from filing a lawsuit and you have to wonder why some random person would just decide to file a case like this. However, the plaintiff is also asking for $2 million dollars in damages. Note that I did not file a lawsuit in my own situation.
Eventually the plaintiff will have to give his name and it is certain that Mr. Travolta’s legal team will file for summary judgment, which means that the court can give a judgment before the case is sent to trial. Meaning, there are enough facts for a judge to decide a case should be thrown out. One fact the Travolta team will use is that Mr. Travolta was not in town on the date alleged in the lawsuit. Curious to see what other facts they use. Mr. Travolta plans to sue for malicious prosecution once the case is over. Is it wrong to say I think he should just get another massage?
Leave a comment | tags: john travolta, lawsuit, massage, Stephanie Cohen
I went to University of Florida and when I first got there, I remember all of this news about hazing in fraternities and sororities. So imagine my surprise (or lack thereof) when 9 students were suspended for hazing the pledges in their fraternity. Otherwise known as “thunderslapping”, apparently the 9 gentlemen got in trouble for paddling others — hitting them in the chest with a paddle to be exact. I want to know who turned them in and if that will end up being kept confidential. Hazing is a serious matter and I hope the suspension teaches these guys a lesson. All the charges filed are treated as misdemeanors with a punishment of possibly up to one year in prison and a fine of $1,000.00. Contrast this with the FAMU case where a student died because of a hazing incident. Those 13 students could each face up to six years in jail. The more awareness there is about hazing, the better.
Although I am not miss sorority, I did in fact join one. We were not hazed and the whole idea of fraternity/sorority secrets are fine but hazing falls out of the protection circle. It isn’t worth being a part of something that involves that type of behavior.
Leave a comment | tags: FAMU, hazing, law, legal, life, Stephanie Cohen, UF
I am in NYC right now and saw Jay Z perform…quite a good night given my love of hip hop…I also was equally pleased that Foot Locker stays open until 1 AM. I always like when I can buy a new pair of tennis shoes at any point. Anyway, this headline caught my eye as it is a pretty miserable story. A UCSD college student was detained by the DEA when the house he was visiting (to get high) was raided. They detained seven people but somehow this guy was left in his cell for FIVE DAYS. No food, no water and no answer to his pleas for help. He was never formally charged or arrested either.
The DEA has no explanation as to how the student was “accidentally forgotten” and the DEA agent involved said he was “deeply troubled” by the incident. Wow, don’t knock me over with your compassion Mr. DEA agent.
I don’t support drug use and there are times when sometimes people need to learn a lesson. In this instance though, leaving a kid for five days without food and water doesn’t exactly provide that lesson. I am sure this case will settle because the DEA doesn’t want the bad press but it is kind of too late for that!
Leave a comment | tags: arrested, DEA, law, Stephanie Cohen, UCSD
Guess who is in NYC. Me. Guess who found a place that sells mini pies! Me. I may or may have not tried the chocolate mini pie. I am a big fan of desserts — usually chocolate or cheesecake and rarely Nutella. Why do I mention Nutella? Nutella is made by Ferrero, an italian confectionary group and they were on the receiving end of a class action lawsuit by a woman who sued them after discovering that nutella chocolate spread had more calories than jam or syrup. Is it just me or isn’t that obvious? Strawberry jam or Nutella? Oh definitely Nutella since I am trying to keep my girlish figure. No. Nutella is CHOCOLATE. How someone would think that Nutella would be the obvious lower calorie choice makes no sense to me. The first article I read about this case didn’t have too much detail so I had to investigate further.
Apparently Nutella was advertising that their product was somewhat healthy so the lawsuit was about deceiving the public since the product actually has as many calories as a candy bar (which, you can easily read on the label). They settled for 3.5 million which means roughly $4 – $20 to any person that had the product during the time in which the lawsuit was alleged.
Sigh. This is a case where I get that it is frustrating to feel like you are eating something you were told was healthy but then you find out it isn’t….but a lawsuit is one step too far. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to perhaps question how healthy a chocolate spread could actually be. It is pretty self-explanatory. BUT, what if you saw this commercial?
http://youtu.be/ThIrw_LpuRA (I also posted it in its own separate post below)
Now suddenly this case gets interesting. Even after watching this, I still thought — seriously? Nutella as a healthy breakfast for kids? Even when I look at products that “seem” healthy or are advertised as such, I can always look at the ingredients to really get a sense of things. I champion the idea that it would be fantastic if all advertising was created to give the honest truth to the consuming public but we all know there are tricks to the trade that entice us to buy. It is one thing if it was called carrot delight and you found out it was super unhealthy but Nutella is used in desserts and doesn’t lend itself to some type of healthy concept. Moral to the story is don’t feed your kids Nutella for breakfast and if you want to have chocolate cake, just have it and call it a day.
Leave a comment | tags: chocolate, class action lawsuit, dessert, life, nutella, Stephanie Cohen | posted in judgment, lawsuit, Legal topics, life, Opinion
I have never worn a pair of blackout glasses. I have also never completed a triathalon or even considered it really. I love the ocean but don’t swim and my bike riding days stopped when I was 12. I do, however, have days where I consider the idea of training for a marathon, getting ready, how much fun it would be to celebrate when it is over and the glory of saying “I RAN A MARATHON!”. And then, I decide against it and just go on my way. In any event, a legally blind athlete is suing three triathlon groups for making him wear blackout glasses while he competes.
Initially I thought, why would it matter? The plaintiff in this case does have 20 percent of his sight so by wearing the glasses, he literally can’t see at all. Somehow there is a rule that by giving all legally blind athletes blackout glasses, somehow you are leveling the playing field. Not sure I follow the logic. It seems more like you are giving one person an advantage over the other. Why take away someone’s sight completely to level the playing field? The claim is based on a violation of the American Disabilities Act of 1990 as by requiring athletes to wear these glasses, you are discriminating against them.
The plaintiff isn’t suing for money, although he reserved that right. I hope he gets his fair chance and gets to compete just like everyone else, without having to wear the glasses.
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I love watching The Bachelor. I haven’t watched every season but I still do love it. However, in 23 seasons of the show, there has never been a “bachelor” or “bachelorette” of color. I never consciously thought about that but there is a lawsuit being filed by two gentlemen for that very reason. They are not employees of the show but rather two regular African American men who decided to file the lawsuit against the show. They can’t file a discrimination case because they are not employees so my understanding is that the case is based on civil rights violations. The lawsuit alleges that the show “deliberately excludes persons of color”, among other things. The production company says the lawsuit lacks merit but….seriously??? 23 seasons and not one person of color? The key is begin able to prove the intention of discrimination but I do believe a jury could infer such discrimination….if the case goes that far. We all know this one will settle. I think it brings to light an important issue and even if reality shows are stupid, they certainly should offer equal opportunity to all.
1 comment | tags: discrimination, lawsuit, Stephanie Cohen, the bachelor | posted in discrimination
Let's make the law entertaining, shall we? 
